A parking garage elevator system includes a frame including two front posts, two rear posts, two upper support members each interconnecting upper ends of the front and rear posts of the same side, two middle support members each interconnecting intermediate portions of the front and rear posts of the same side, and two cross braces each interconnecting front ends or rear ends of the upper support members; upper and lower automobile platforms; a power transmitting mechanism including first and second electric motors and two chains each for transferring power from the first electric motor to the upper automobile platform or from the second electric motor to the lower automobile platform; and a safety mechanism including four sets of two safety hooks and a plurality of restrain screws on the upper automobile platform or the lower automobile platform.
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1. A parking garage elevator system, comprising a frame, a platform assembly, a power transmitting mechanism, and a safety mechanism wherein:
the frame includes two front posts, two rear posts, two upper support members each interconnecting upper ends of the front and rear posts of the same side, two middle support members each interconnecting intermediate portions of the front and rear posts of the same side, and two cross braces each interconnecting front ends or rear ends of the upper support members;
the platform assembly is horizontally disposed in the frame and includes an upper automobile platform under the upper support members, and a lower automobile platform under the middle support members, each of the upper and lower automobile platforms include a front suspension seat and a rear suspension seat; a guide roller; and two projections along two sides respectively and a parking zone between the projections;
the power transmitting mechanism is configured to lift or lower the upper automobile platform and/or the lower automobile platform and includes a first electric motor on the upper support member, a second electric motor on the middle support member, and two chains each for transferring power from the first electric motor to the upper automobile platform or from the second electric motor to the lower automobile platform, the first electric motor and the second electric motor being spaced apart; and
the safety mechanism includes four sets of two safety hooks, the upper two sets of the safety hooks being disposed under the upper support members and the lower two sets of the safety hooks being provided under the middle support members; and a plurality of restrain screws disposed on the upper automobile platform or the lower automobile platform; and each of the safety hooks is configured to fall into the corresponding restrain screw to prevent each of the upper and lower automobile platforms from falling in a lifting or lowering operation in case of power outage.
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The invention relates to parking garages and more particularly to a parking garage elevator system having two automobile platforms driven by electric motors and chains.
A conventional parking garage elevator system having an automobile platform exclusive of the ground is disadvantageous because it has many complicated components including driving members, is bulky and is prone to malfunction.
Another conventional parking garage elevator system having two automobile platforms exclusive of the ground is advantageous because it has a simple structure, is less to malfunction, and is safer in operation. However, it still has the problems including interferences of components including automobile platforms and frame in operation and insufficient structural strength.
Thus, the need for improvement still exists.
It is therefore one object of the invention to provide a parking garage elevator system, comprising a frame, a platform assembly, a power transmitting mechanism, and a safety mechanism wherein the frame includes two front posts, two rear posts, two upper support members each interconnecting upper ends of the front and rear posts of the same side, two middle support members each interconnecting intermediate portions of the front and rear posts of the same side, and two cross braces each interconnecting front ends or rear ends of the upper support members; the platform assembly is horizontally disposed in the frame and includes an upper automobile platform under the upper support members, and a lower automobile platform under the middle support members, each of the upper and lower automobile platforms include a front suspension seat and a rear suspension seat; a guide roller; and two projections along two sides respectively and a parking zone between the projections; the power transmitting mechanism is configured to lift or lower the upper automobile platform and/or the lower automobile platform and includes a first electric motor on the upper support member, a second electric motor on the middle support member, and two chains each for transferring power from the first electric motor to the upper automobile platform or from the second electric motor to the lower automobile platform, the first electric motor and the second electric motor being spaced apart; and the safety mechanism is configured to prevent each of the upper and lower automobile platforms from falling in a lifting or lowering operation and includes four sets of two safety hooks, the upper two sets of the safety hooks being disposed under the upper support members and the lower two sets of the safety hooks being provided under the middle support members; and a plurality of restrain screws disposed on the upper automobile platform or the lower automobile platform.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The frame 11 includes two front posts 111, two rear posts 112, two upper support members 113 each interconnecting upper ends of the front and rear posts 111, 112 of the same side, two middle support members 114 each interconnecting intermediate portions of the front and rear posts 111, 112 of the same side, and two cross braces 115 each interconnecting front ends or rear ends of the upper support members 113. Each of the front posts 111, the rear posts 112, the upper support members 113, the middle support members 114 and the cross braces 115 are metal bars having an H-shaped cross-section. Further, two sets of two guy-wires 116 are provided on two sides of the frame 11 respectively in which each of the guy-wires 116 of the same set interconnect the front post 111 and the rear posts 112 of the same side for adding stability of the frame 11. The guy-wires 116 of the same set cross each other.
The platform assembly 12 includes an upper automobile platform 121 under the upper support members 113, and a lower automobile platform 122 under the middle support members 114. Each of the upper automobile platform 121 and the lower automobile platform 122 include a front suspension seat 123 and a rear suspension seat 124; a guide roller 125 for balance purposes; and two projections 126 along two sides respectively and a flat parking zone 127 between the projections 126 and threadedly secured thereto. An angle θ between the parking zone 127 and the projection 126 is in the range of 100-150 degrees. The front suspension seat 123 of the upper automobile platform 121 may move downward or upward along the front post 111. The front suspension seat 123 is disposed in the cavity of the H-shaped metal bar so that the upper automobile platform 121 may not interfere with the middle support members 114 in the vertical movement and the balance of the upper automobile platform 121 can be maintained. The projection 126 includes a seating member 1261 on the upper automobile platform 121 so that the rear suspension seat 124 may be disposed between the projection 126 and the seating member 1262. The upper suspension seat 121 includes a ramp 1211 at an end for facilitating an automobile 2 to enter the upper suspension seat 121. An enhancement member 128 interconnects the rear suspension seats 124 for load sharing purposes.
The power transmitting mechanism 13 for lifting or lowering the upper automobile platform 121 and/or the lower automobile platform 122 is provided with a first electric motor 131 on the upper support member 113, a second electric motor 132 on the middle support member 114, two chains 133 each for transferring power from the first electric motor 131 to the upper automobile platform 121 or from the second electric motor 132 to the lower automobile platform 122. The first electric motor 131 and the second electric motor 132 are spaced apart so that there is no interference between the upper automobile platform 121 and the lower automobile platform 122 in a lifting or lowering operation.
The safety mechanism 14 is provided for preventing each of the upper automobile platform 121 and the lower automobile platform 122 from falling in the lifting or lowering operation and includes four sets of two safety hooks 141 in which the upper two sets of the safety hooks 141 are provided under the upper support members 113 and the lower two sets of the safety hooks 141 are provided under the middle support members 114. The safety mechanism 14 further comprises a plurality of restrain screws 142 disposed on the upper automobile platform 121 or the lower automobile platform 122. The safety hook 141 includes an electromagnet and a hook member which may automatically fall into the restrain screw 142 to prevent the upper automobile platform 121 or the lower automobile platform 122 from falling in case of power outage.
An inclined plate 117 is provided on each of the middle support members 114 for facilitating the upper automobile platform 121 to pass through the middle support members 114 in the lifting or lowering operation, i.e., the rear suspension seat 124 of the upper automobile platform 121 smoothly passing through the middle support members 114. The inclined plate 171 is tapered from top to bottom and shaped as a wedge. A traction member (not shown) is provided on each of the parking zone 127 and the ramp 1211 for increasing traction of the wheels of the automobile 2 thereon.
Referring to
For moving the automobiles 2, firstly the third automobile 2 is driven to exit the ground. Next, the lower automobile platform 122 is lowered to rest on the ground. Next, the second automobile 2 is driven to exit the ground. Finally, the upper automobile platform 121 is lowered to rest on the lower automobile platform 122. The first automobile 2 is driven to exit the ground.
While the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
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